The Dodgers have dropped to 37-29 and are 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, and while the club has been good at home, 20-10, they have struggled on the road posting just a 17-19 road record. 

In the last 2 road trips, the Dodgers have gone 6-10 and have seen their lead in the Division disappear amongst injuries, inconsistencies, and, well, just poor performances from time to time. 

The Bullpen has been inconsistent, and, while the starting rotation has been good at home, it has not been good on the road. But, one thing the Dodgers have been is gritty, and they have also scored a lot of runs, so hopefully the Roller Coaster ride will be headin’ up as the Dodgers are headin’ home. 

The Dodgers are headed home for a 3 game series against the White Sox before going to Anaheim for 2 games. They then come back home for 3 games with the Astros before going to Colorado and Kansas City. 

While the Dodgers have basically been treading water for pretty much the entire season, this next stretch begins a part of their schedule where they need to start swimming laps. 

Of course, to do so, some things really need to get shored up, starting with the starting rotation. So, let’s start from the back and work our way forward. 

In the 5th spot, Michael Grove has shown flashes of what he is capable of, but, then, has made too many mistake pitches to have consistent success. Gavin Stone struggled mightily in his time with L.A., but, Bobby Miller has risen to the top. 

It was great to see Michael Grove healthy again & back on the bump. Lots of good in his first start back. He went 4, gave up 2 & had 7 Ks & just 1 walk. His 4 seam hit 97 & sat 95 & his curveball had close to his typical 58 in. vertical break, so it was a good return. #dodgers pic.twitter.com/FiYjmtHaCa

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) May 22, 2023

Dodgers Win 9-0

Bobby Miller got the start on Saturday and was dominant yet again. He shut out the Phillies in his 6 innings of work, gave up just 3 hits, had 7 Ks and just 3 walks. He has allowed just 3 Earned Runs in 23 innings pitched in his 3 outings, has given up just 12 hits and has recorded 23 strikeouts. He arrived in LA as advertised as a top prospect that is ready to make a big impact. 

Bobby Miller has an 0.78 ERA through his first four career MLB starts🤯

After another gem, the No. 2 @Dodgers prospect joined an exclusive group: https://t.co/MCO0xWOzt6 pic.twitter.com/MAmYRSfTJy

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 10, 2023

According to Paul Casella of MLB Pipeline “Miller became just the third pitcher in AL/NL history to go at least five innings and allow no more than one run in each of his first four career games within the same season. The last to do so was Kenta Maeda in 2016 (also with the Dodgers), while Cody Anderson also did so in 2015 with Cleveland.”

Jackson Back in Action

Welcome back Andre Jackson. Jackson was recalled to be a bulk inning reliever and he delivered. Jackson features a + changeup and went 3 scoreless, striking out 3 and walking none. When Jackson is landing his changeup, he is very, very good, as we saw on Saturday. 

Location & movement, that's the key for Andre Jackson. He can heat up the 4-seam, he was 93-95, but he's at his best when he's locating & moving the ball.
Jackson went 3 scoreless & threw 30 strikes in 42 pitches. Check out the slider & change, they were on point. #dodgers pic.twitter.com/fbQ2qThPAz

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) April 2, 2023

Offense Has Been Good

The Dodgers were very efficient of offense scoring 9 runs on 9 hits. James Outman got things started with an opposite field double, and David Peralta and JD Martinez both hit home runs. The Dodgers scored in just 3 innings, but a 6 spot in the 7th was all she wrote for the Phillies. The Dodgers had 2 singles, 2 walks, an HBP, a double and a home run in that 6 run inning, so they did a little of everything to score those runs. 

Call Ups

Welcome to The Show, Nick Robertson! pic.twitter.com/CqIJfIKXeC

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 8, 2023

Nick Robertson also got called up and was awesome in his first outing, but then gave up 3 in his 2nd outing. Tayler Scott who has been dominant in AAA OKC also got called up and so did Adam Kolarek. 

If the Dodgers didn't go with a BP game yesterday, Matt Andriese, IMO, would have been the choice. They chose, instead, to bring up Adam Kolarek to help in the pen. Andriese has been the PCL Pitcher of the Month & Pitcher of the week. ERA 4.50, WHIP 1.38, so tough call. #dodgers pic.twitter.com/5cJiiZohl2

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) June 12, 2023

Bullpen Game Best Option?

On Sunday the Dodgers had a couple of options, start Tony Gonsolin on normal rest, bring up Matt Andriese, or make it a bullpen game. The Dodgers have been inconsistent in the Bullpen, so, to ask them to cover 9 innings was a certain acknowledgement that they didn’t have any other better options.

The organization chose to call up Veteran Adam Kolarek and make Sunday a bullpen game. 

This route was the safest of no tried and true obvious options as the last thing this club can afford is for Tony Gonsolin to get hurt again. Matt Andriese is a decent option, and the next tier of options would likely have come straight from AA. So, although it didn’t work, it also didn’t put the organization in a worst position moving forward. 

I’m not a huge fan of playing the “long-run” game when you have the talent in the system the Dodgers have, but I can understand their reasoning in this case. Their just weren’t really any other better options.

Bottom line to Sunday, IMO, is though, that, whichever path the organization chose, everyone had to know that the offense would likely have to carry the day and 3 runs isn’t going to win this club many games in its current carnation. 

Remember, the Dodgers are 22nd in Team ERA in the MLB, so, they have had to slug their way to the majority of their 37 wins. 

Down on the Farm

The Dodgers Minor League system is a combined 154-79, which is easily the best record of any organization in baseball, so the Farm is stacked. 

AAA OKC

OKC won 24-5 on Sunday to move to 45-18 on the season, and racked up 21 hits, 22 RBIs, 6 doubles, 3 HRs and went 11-25 with runners in scoring position. Matt Andriese got the start and went 5.1 innings giving up 4 runs on 9 hits, and the Dodgers used 5 pitchers in total highlighted by Gus Varland who finished the last inning scoreless hitting 98 with his fastball. 

If the Dodgers didn’t go with a BP game on Sunday, Matt Andriese, IMO, would have been the choice. They chose, instead, to bring up Adam Kolarek to help in the pen. Andriese has been the PCL Pitcher of the Month & Pitcher of the week, and has posted an ERA of  4.50 and a WHIP of 1.38, so that was a tough call.

Justin Yurchak had 3 hits & 7 RBIs for AAA OKC and he also walked and scored twice. Yurchak is, quite possibly, the most underrated offensive player in the system. He’s hitting .274 OPS .821 & has hits in 6 of his last 7 games. He hit .365 in 2021, .282 last year.

Recently acquired Kole Calhoun had 3 hits including his 2nd and 3rd doubles on the year. Calhoun is 6 for 23 since being acquired with 3 doubles.

Michael Busch had 3 more hits yesterday, including his 15th double & his 6th homerun. Busch is hitting .310 OPS .945 & is hitting .500 so far in the 6 games he has played in June. Dude is not hot, this is just what he always does!

Drew Avans had 4 hits on Sunday in the 24-5 win for AAA OKC. Avans also had 5 Ribeye’s, walked once & scored twice. Avans has hits in 6 of his last 7 games & is 6 for his last 10 with 2 doubles, an HR, 6 RBIs, 4 runs scored & 11 total bases.

AA Tulsa

The Drillers have hit a bit of a rough patch in their season, but have had a great year. Their staff coming into this past week had the lowest ERA of any club in the MiLB, and so did their starters as a whole. They are 37-20 on the year. 

Great Outing for Kyle Hurt on Sunday who worked around trouble by being over powering. Hurt struck out 8 in 4.0 innings and gave up just 1 run and 3 hits. Hurt now has 63 Ks in 36.1 innings on the year. Keep up the great work Kyle!

Imanol Vargas had 3 hits on Sunday for AA Tulsa, including his 10th double of 2023. Vargas has 10 multi hit games on the year & has 3 hits in a game 3 different time so far this year.

Eddys Leonard hit home run #7 for AA Tulsa and also added a second hit & 3 RBIs. Leonard has 2 multi hit games in a row and is hitting .293 so far in June OPS .917. Leonard hit .286 in May OPS .897, so he has been playing very good offense for quite a while now.

Jake Pilarski had a great outing for AA Tulsa going 2 innings scoreless & striking out 3. Pilarski has his ERA down to 1.16, his average against down to .169 & he has 29 Ks in 23.1 innings. Dude is legit!

High A Great Lakes

The Loons have been one of the best teams in the league this year and have been very exciting. Never count this team out as they love to come from behind and win close games in the end. They are 39-17 on the season and have a star studded roster. 

The Baseball Is Awesome Post of the Day! The Loons had quite the game Saturday night. Fireworks during and after the game in front of a huge crowd. The benches cleared twice & meanwhile Juan Morillo struck out the side in the 9th to end it & touched 100. Check it Out!

Luis Diaz had 2 hits for Great Lakes on Saturday night to continue his good hitting. Diaz has back to back multi hit games and has hits in 14 of his last 15 games.

Alex Freeland hit one off the video board left handed last time I posted about him. Sunday he hit one out right handed. Freeland has an OPS of 1.000 this month & 7 RBIs so far in June.

Damon Keith has been rakin’ for Great Lakes. Saturday night he had 3 hits including his 10th double & 9th HR. It was also his 2nd consecutive 3 hit game and his 5th game in a row with a hit. He’s raised his average close to 100 points in the last month.

Chris Newell has 17 HRs, is hitting .279 and has 9 Stolen bases. He has hits in 5 games in a row and has 2 multi hit games in his last 3.

With all of the offense & the fireworks both on & off the field, don’t forget the great job Orlando Ortiz-Mayr did going 4 scoreless innings. Ortiz got the W to move to 5-1. He has walked just 1 hitter in his last 19 innings and struck out 15 during that stretch.

Dalton Rushing had 2 hits including his 13th double & he also had 2 Ribeye steaks. Rushing has his OPS up to .945 & is hitting .400 this month with an on base % of .563. Dude Can Rake!

My man TY-Taylor Young fouled one off his foot, then, 1 pitch later, pounded a hit into left field. Dude is tough as nails and very good at baseball. He had 2 hits, 2 RBIs & was on base 4 times.

Single A Rancho Cucamonga

Rancho Cucamonga had a tough week last week winning just 1 of the 5 games with Modesto, but they are still way above water at 43-34. 

Here’s a good look at Peter Heubeck, a 20 year old 3rd Round 2021 Draft Pick. Heubeck committed to Wake Forest who qualified for the College World Series, before getting drafted, so Go Deacs. He has a big arm, big breaking ball, a good change and is mastering a slider.

Thayron Liranzo had a hit and was on base twice for Rancho. Liranzo is just 19 and has big talent. Gives off a mix of Robinson Cano/Juan Soto type vibe with his swing. Liranzo has hits in 3 games in a row & 4 of 5 & has his OPS at .927. Big Talent, Big Potential!

Here’s a good look at 2 at bats from one of the Dodgers fastest rising young prospects, Josue De Paula. When I see DePaula, the first name that pops in my head in Bernie Williams. Big, big talent.

There’s been a lot of good to Jonathan Edward’s year this year, and today was a highlight. He went 2 innings scoreless & didn’t give up a hit. Edwards has shown flashes of turning the corner this year, so hopefully today plays a big part in that.

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